straitjacket

American  

[streyt-jak-it] / ˈstreɪtˌdʒæk ɪt /

Or straightjacket

noun

1. a garment made of strong material and designed to bind the arms, as of a violently disoriented person.

2. anything that severely confines, constricts, or hinders.

   Conventional attitudes can be a straitjacket, preventing original thinking.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put in or as in a straitjacket.

   Her ambition was straitjacketed by her family.

straitjacket British  

/ ˈstreɪtˌdʒækɪt /

noun

1. Also called: straightjacket.  a jacket made of strong canvas material with long sleeves for binding the arms of violent prisoners or mentally ill patients

2. a severe restriction or limitation

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verb

1. (tr) to confine in or as if in a straitjacket

Etymology

Origin of straitjacket

First recorded in 1805–15; strait + jacket

Example Sentences

Locking money into a restricted account felt like voluntarily returning to the kind of financial straitjacket they just escaped, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The first three weeks saw an 8-year-old aerialist, a 74-year-old comedian, a laser-performing duo from Vietnam and a Las Vegas magician who hung from the ceiling in a straitjacket.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

It makes the whole project less overwhelming — more a compass than a straitjacket.

From Salon • Sep. 9, 2025

In dressing rooms, a size-XS shirt would go over my head instead of entrapping me like a straitjacket.

From Slate • Jul. 20, 2024

I looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• ban
• constraint
• curb
• embargo
• limit
• prohibition
• reduction
• restriction